Grendel Adventure
by A Feather of Pepa
Summary: I cringe in Aloha's headlock. Don't ask me how the situation got this bad; all you need to know is that Aloha does NOT Doozers thrown at her face. At all. We're still standing in front of the door, Anastasia just left, and I'm in a headlock. HAITUS.
1. Chapter 1

The life as a Grendel isn't easy, let me tell you. First of all, we're abandoned by our parents and left to fend for ourselves, no one to teach us the difference between right and wrong. Naturally, I assumed to hatch in a dark and spooky forest, like my ancestors. But I was wrong. Never did I expect this.

My heart beat faster and faster as me and my sister, Anela, watched this mysterious egg hatch. We're in the middle of a desert, no water nor cool breezes, only a volcano that erupts when this hand creature pushes a button. I had hatched a little time earlier, and looked around to see an egg that was a shiny blue. This, I thought, was my sister. Then I spotted a pale and bumpy egg and decided instantly that it must be a different creature than a Norn. Now I, Aloha the Civet Norn, am watching as a crack appears in this grumpy-looking egg.  
Suddenly, a green and clawed foot strikes through the shell, frightening us Civet Norns. Anela flinches as an arm with four long claws and the same green skin punches the shell. The other arm joins it, and both arms are ripping the shell apart in attempt to free the whole body. What is this creature? The thick shell breaks apart in its fierce claws, and standing before Anela and me is a strange creature I've never heard of before.

As I hatch from my shell, I see blurry, strange creatures before me. What were they going to do to me? Fear clutched my heart as I frantically look around and find myself in a desert. When my sight clears up, I turn to the creatures again. Both of them had soft and curly yellow fur, with big matching blue eyes. They sat on their haunches like bunnies. Were these Norns? I had heard from my egg a passerby Grendel mutter, "Stupid hardy Norns. They beat you up and then leave you to suffer." Afraid, I arch my back defensively and glared at them through my red eyes. They flinch, but don't leave. This obviously wasn't enough to make them leave, so I leap forward and begin to beat them.

I find, to my shock, a hand creature slapping my behind in their defence! Angry, I back away from the Norns and growl. The Norns were bruised and scratched, to my satisfaction. Ha! That'll teach those hardy Norns not to mess with me! I growl again, baring my teeth in the beginnings of a snarl.

"Quite the feisty one, isn't he?" The Civet Norn on the right tells her sister. She rubs her bloodied shoulder wearily before introducing herself. "Hey there. My name is Anela, and this is my sister, Aloha. We're not going to hurt you. In fact, we're just as puzzled as you!"

"Not here to hurt me, eh?" I hiss. "Do you know what's going on?"

Anela shook her head. "Nope. But since we're here, we might as well get along," She glares at me harshly, "rather than kill each other."

With a grin, I lower my hunchback and round my eyes. "That's fine with me, as long as you can tell me something."

"What's that?"

"Where, exactly, are we?" I ask, my rounded red eyes growing curious. I'd never imagined hatching somewhere so… _sandy_. Mostly, I had picture my Grendel Jungle, with the protective toxic plants and spikes. "I mean, with the sand and stuff…"

"The desert, duh! Haven't you ever imagined a place like this?" Aloha exclaims, her eyes dreamy. She stands up and fluffs herself. "You know, we can explore this world together, or do it separately." She searches my eyes. "What do you say? Do you want to kill us, or be our brother?"

Grendels are supposed to grow up alone, dependant on no one but themselves. To be a part of a family is… preposterous! It'd be breaking the Grendel Code! Nonetheless, I think this through. If I had sisters, I would be able to protect them from being beaten by random Grendels. We want all three races to continue living, so it makes sense, right? If we come across another Grendel, so be it. I shall become strong enough to defend my new family!

"Hello? Grendel?"

I focus my eyes on Aloha and Anela. "Yes. I will be your brother."

"So, then. Ready to start our new life together?"

"Ready."

All three of us stretch our legs and look at a strange piece of machinery. It was round, and in the center was what looked to be a small door. Beside the round part, a square machine lay. Two buttons were on it: the red and the green. "What is that?" Anela asks.

"It is a teleporter." A squeaky voice said.

We glance behind us and see an Ettin walking towards us. One of the three races! "Hello there," I begin. "We are traveling creatures. Do you know how to work this so-called teleporter?"

Its peachy coloured body is the shape of my sisters'. It has gleaming red eyes like me, without pupils. Now that's what I call creepy. "I am Ellie." The Ettin introduces with a feminine voice. "You are a little young to be travelers, no?"

I arch my green back defensively. "What of it? You are a little old to be a traveler."

"That is because I am not." Ellie replies. "Anyway, you are wondering about that machine, no? You press the red button to turn it on, and the green button to teleport."

I lower my back again. Smiling brightly, I wave my thick green tail about and thank her before guiding my sisters to the teleporter. "Anela, stand in front of the door. I'll turn on the machine and press the green button." The Civet Norn skips up to the machine and stand in front of the door as I had asked. Pressing the red button, I watch as a shield covers the top part of the teleporter. Then I pressed the green button with one of my long white claws. In a flash of white light, Anela disappears.

"Whoa!" Aloha breathes. "Where'd she go?"

Ellie smiles, brushing her short white hair out of her face. "She has gone to the Grendel Jungle."

I stiffen. "The _what_?"

The Ettin glares. "You heard me, youngster."

"How was I supposed to know?"

"You couldn't have. You just hatched." Aloha points out.

"Thanks a lot, Aloha."

"No prob, bro!"

Sighing, I turn back to the teleporter. "I'm going in. Cover me, Aloha!" Standing in front of the door, I take a deep breath and press the green button. It made a creaky noise, and nothing happened. How humiliating.

"Er… 'Cover me'?" Aloha asks in a funny tone.

"SHADUP!"

Meanwhile, Ellie seems to be examining the teleporter. "Hmm…" She kicks it once, then again. "It appears that something went wrong when your… er… _sister_ went through the portal. A Grendel, perhaps?"

"Oh, no…" I breathe, trying to picture Anela with her frightened round eyes, whimpering against a tree while she is being beaten. Then I realized how menacing I could look. I hope I didn't drive her into this. Poor, poor Anela… "How are we going to get to her?" I ask frantically, shaking Ellie by her shoulders.

Ellie is bewildered by my fear. "I did not know that Grendels were afraid of anything…" She murmured. "Perhaps Omma was right."

"Answer me!" I screech, shaking her faster.

"Grendel, stop!" Aloha yells. She pulls at my arm and yanked me off of the Ettin. Shoving me to the ground, she glares while standing over me. "Take a chill pill!" Aloha snarls. "Freaking out won't do any good. No good at all!"

I am paralyzed hopeless. First I wake up in a strange place, become part a family, and then my sister gets attacked by another Grendel. What did I do to deserve this?

"We need a name for you." Aloha says, taking a deep breath to calm herself. "What about Ung?"

I frown. "NO- FREAKING- WAY."

"Grndl?"

"What in the name of Shee…?"

"How about Spud?"

_Spud_. The name rings in my head for a moment. It has a Grendel side to it, but also a gentle side to it. I kind of like it. "Spud it is!" I declare.

Sighing, Ellie shakes her head exaggeratedly. "Now that you two have figured out what should have been figured out _before_…"

"Wha..."

"…We can figure out what must be figured out _now_." The Ettin finished. "I'll fix the machine, you two go through the Shee spaceship and enter the door with the plant sign on it. 'Kay?"

I apparently have a funny expression on my face, because Aloha is glaring at me. "Don't be rude!" She hisses.

"Sorry," I whisper in reply. "It's just going to be weird, returning to the place I should have been hatched into."

She frowns sympathetically and pats my back. "I know what it's like, bro." She lowers her voice in the end. "I know what it's like."

* * *

Author's note: Daaw, family moment.


	2. Chapter 2

"So… Which way?" Aloha asks Ellie when we're all assembled.

Ellie points toward another machine and says, "Take that two levels down, and then go to your right. You should be able to see a door."

"Huhn…" I gulp. "What is that?" It was carefully designed on a pulley and was built of metal and some bamboo to hold onto.

Smiling, Ellie walks up to it and gestures for me and my sibling to follow. "This," The Ettin laughs, "is an elevator." She opens the bamboo door and patiently waits for us to get in.

Aloha frowns in concentration when she's trying to repeat what the Ettin said. "Elel…" She coughs. "Elevatow… Elevator?"

Ellie nods, sweeping her hand into and out of the elevator. "Come on."

We step inside. My heart lurches as the thing swings. Now I _really_ wish I didn't do this! "I'm gonna throw up." I gag, swinging my head over the bamboo. I emptied my stomach and stood up shakily. "Nobody laugh."

Ellie and Aloha slowly exchange glances, look at my mouth, and slap their hands over their mouths to hide a smile. The next thing you know, they burst out _laughing_.

"What's so funny?" I demand. I slit my red eyes and arch my back. "No fair! You're not telling me what's going on!"

Ellie chokes back another laughing fit and rasps, "You have… stomach acid all over your mouth. Aw… Poor little Grendel."

"Don't sympathize me!" I snarl angrily and rub my hand across my mouth. I find green, gooey stuff all over. "That's disgusting!" I feel stinging in my nose and realize… "That's even worse!" I feel utterly gross and cross.

Aloha giggles. "Wow. I didn't know Grendel barf looked like that…"

"SHADUP!"

The elevator reaches the bottom floor and we see… my stomach acid all over the ground. Plugging her nose, Ellie reaches for a hovering craft. "This is a hover board." She explains. "It can take your weight, and it can take you any direction you want to go."

"Okay, thanks." I look at the blue, flat surface. There were mini rockets underneath the board. Is that how it hovers? "Um…" Grendels are not supposed to thank, nor are we allowed to apologize. It's part of our code. No manners, no nothing. So, it gives me great grief when I say, "I'm sorry for my… puking. But thank you for your help."

The Ettin looks at me like I'm crazy. Then she mutters something under her breath, and gestures for me and Aloha to climb on. "I must stay here," Ellie says. "My home is here, and so is my family. I shan't leave them."

"I can respect that." I reply cautiously.

Aloha climbed onto the hover board and frowns. "This thing wobbles." Pulling me up, we wave at Ellie before taking off at lightning speed. "Whee!" Aloha cries, her yellow fur a blur from my eyes.

After about fifteen minutes of passing Uglees and other creatures in the hot desert habitat, I spot something. "Is that the door?" I shout over the wind. It is round (why is everything here round?) and has colours all over it. It's trapped between the wall, and I assume it leads to the other side. There's also a panel with a button that flashes red and green every second located beside it. What is it with Shee and the colours red and green?

In her excitement, Aloha grabs onto the hover board tightly and stops it. Unfortunately, because I had no idea what she was doing, I fly forward and skid on my chin ten feet away.

"Sorry, Spud." She apologizes. Hopping down and landing perfectly on her feet, she grabs my giant clawed hand and pulls me up. I'm surprised she's not afraid of touching my intoxicated self. The disease inside my skin can physically and mentally harm her, but only if I slapped hard enough to transfer the poison into her. Perhaps she doesn't know?

"Aloha, don't touch my arm."

She tilts her head to one side. Releasing my hand, and shakes her own and eyes me. "What is it? Do you not like creatures touching you? Sorry-"

I hastily interrupt. "No, no! It's not that. There's poison in my skin, you see, and it can hurt you a lot." Perhaps we can visit Ellie later and ask her about it… I shake my head. "Let's continue, shall we? I mean, Anela might even be dead!" I shuddered to think of it. I don't understand why; Grendels don't generally feel emotions unless they are really pissed off. And that's pretty much the only emotion we feel in our life time.

Nodding, Aloha takes off and I follow. "Well, let's see…" Aloha says thoughtfully when we reach the door. "We should… Yeah, that's where it is… And then…" The Norn fiddles with the machines embedded within the door. Suddenly, it opens and she steps in, only to see me fall through clumsily. Today, I have learned that Grendels are not the brightest creatures.

"Grr…" My Grendelness shows when I growl at the door, baring my teeth. "Stupid, stupid door."

Aloha giggles. "Well, you didn't exactly die, did you?" She's right… As long as I don't use my stupidity to kill myself. "Aw, brighten up, Spud!" She laughs. "I mean, it _is_ true that you didn't exactly have your best Hatch Day. Breaking the Grendel Code… Throwing up on the elevator… Losing your sister…"

"You really aren't helping, you know."

"Sorry."

I sniff and look at my surroundings for the first time. The air smells clean and pure, no sand or toxins polluting it. My surroundings are a metallic, light blue floor and walling, and doors with different symbols on them are on my right. "Let's look at these, Aloha." I gesture to the symbols. Walking down the isle (or creeping, Grendels are pretty slow), I study the one that follows immediately. "It's a plant."

"Looks like a toxic one to me," Aloha remarks with a hint of disgust.

I cough drily. "Home, sweet home."

Getting my hint, Aloha's eyes widen with shock. "Oh, right! Sorry!"

"It's fine." My back is a bit arched.

"So uhh… Wanna go in?" She asks, clearly trying to avoid eye contact. "Ellie says that's what we we're lookin' for." She's gulping, and I can smell fear and tension coming in waves off of her. I flinch. She's afraid of me! I study the yellow, puffed up fur and inwardly wail. Why is it that everyone I meet turns out to be nervous around me? Ellie was, and now Aloha?

In my anger, I push past the Norn and enter the Grendel Jungle on my own.

"Spud, wait!"

I turn around. "What do you want, little Civet Norn?" I taunt angrily. My lips are twisting into a sneer. "Does Alo-lo want her big brother?" Out of technicality, Grendels grow faster than Norns, so I am her older brother. "Is she hungry for cheese and apples? Thirsty for water and Albian ale—"

BAM!

Before I can tell what just happened, I find myself sprawled on the ground with a bloody muzzle.

Aloha is standing over me with fire burning harshly in her eyes.

BAM!

She thrusts her fist at me again, and now my eye is aching.

BAM!

She hits again and again… It hurts so much. When I'm literally near-death, the Civet Norn inhales quickly and widen her eyes, as though she just found herself between right and wrong. Shock is embedded so clearly in her eyes that through my blurry vision, it was almost easy to see. "O-oh my S-Shee…!" She wails. "What have I done?" She stares at me, horrified, and backs away. "Good-bye!"

I watch in frozen shock as she runs. She leaves me to die where I should have been hatched. What mess have I gotten into? My eyes are now showing me patterns of blood running down my 'ugly' face and into my eyes, and my vision is slowly turning darker and darker. The last thing I can remember is a tall, blue shape standing over me and gasping with a feminine voice. "No!" Then my world turned black.

* * *

Anastasia let out a horrified gasp. Whimpering before her was a baby Grendel, beaten and bruised. But by what? The little Shee felt utterly lost. Her round blue eyes sparkled with sadness and her braided black hair was sticking up. Her ears, like everyone elses', were Norn-based. She was wearing a science cloak that Shee usually wore; the humaniod beings were known for their intelligence.

Without thinking, the young Shee cradled the beaten creature in her arms and carryed it back to her lab. "Tomathon!" She yelled, seeming to be calling someone.

Almost instantly, an aged Shee walked around a polished platinum table and frowned at her. He had large brown eyes and was nearly bald, his Norn ears twitching slightly. "What do you want?" He stared hard at his apprentice.

Anastasia stared around the lab for a minute. The familiar counters and experimental areas soothed her distress. Then she turned back to Tomathon. "You. Are. Going. To. Fix. Him." The nine-year old-looking Shee glared furiously at her mentor.

"What's all the excitement about?"

A new voice interrupted their staring contest. A male Shee strolled into the Experiment Room, looking like Anastasia's mentor, with blond hair. Anastasia happily skipped over and tackled him. "Hi, Jo-jo!"

Jo-jo hugged back. "As I said, what's going on?" Then, spotting the baby Grendel on the platinum table, he narrowed his eyes. "Okay, Anastasia... What did you bring in _now_?"

"He is hurt." Anastasia stiffened in his arms. She glared up at her big brother. "You _will_ help him, won't you?"

"Yes honey, I will. But I have a question."

"What's that?"

"How did you know he was a male Grendel?"

The room was silenced. Anastasia did a face-palm. "He had a mohawk."

Jo-jo laughed. "Come, we must help him now."

* * *

Will Spud be alright? Why did Anastasia do a face-palm? And, most of all-

What kind of Norn is Aloha, actually?

Find these out on the next episode of:

~GRENDEL ADVENTURE~

Angst! Mystery! GRENDELS!

...

Wait...

What?


	3. Chapter 3

Anxiously, Anastasia watched her brother get to work. "Jo-jo, is he going to live?" She nagged her sibling every five minutes as he wrapped cloth around the Grendel's bloody muzzle and body. The blood oozed through the fabric, but she didn't care, as it seemed to slow the blood flow.

"Gods willing." Was all he would say.

Snorting in impatience, Anastasia paced on the floor of their spaceship. Her mentor, Tomathon, had suggested she go wait outside, but she had angrily snapped at him. The full treatment had taken a day, and the young Shee was beginning to tire. Even Jo-jo was agreeing that she should go to bed. Giving in, Anastasia escorted herself into the Sleeping Chamber and fell asleep.

I wake up from this nightmare. What in the name of Shee is going on? I'm in a cage. A cage! And there—there's a platinum table and some counters where there are weird tube things with liquids inside. I yawn sleepily. "Wha—eh th' name o' Sheh…"

"Hello there!"

Alarmed, I whip my head towards the tall blue shape I saw before I passed out. Defensively, I arch my back. "Leave me alone! What do you want from me?" I'm so groggy that I can't tell what order I put it in.

"My name is Anastasia," The creature sniffs, ignoring my hostile behaviour. "I cannot understand you, because all you are saying is, 'feh ung graaaah!'"

Okay, I know what I sound like, but that is _not_ me. First of all, she isn't good at imitating a Grendel. Second—

Wait. How can I understand her if she can't understand me?

"I am one of the Shee, creators of all beings here."

If you're so great, why can't you understand me, lady? Sheesh!

"You and Norns, as well as Ettins, speak Bibble."

_That's_ helpful… _Not_.

"…This is causing my understanding to be groggy."

Oh. _Now_ everything makes sense. Trying to clear my throat, I think about those Shee languages. "**Where**-deh-ghere…" I grope for words. "**Am**-deh-gam… **I**-deh-guy?" (The trick is to read the first word of each gibberish sentence and ignore the rest.)

Anastasia laughs. "That's perfect! You are in the Shee laboratories." Her eyes sparkle. "And uhh… what happened to you?"

I flick my gaze nervously at the white wall. "Ummmmm…."

"You're speaking Bibble again, Grendel."

That's so it. Something inside of me just snaps. Pressing up against the cage I roar, "**MY**-DEH-GUY **NAME**-DE-GAME **IS**-DI-GIS **SPUD**-DI-GUD, **YOU**-DI-GOO **STU**-DI-GOO **PID**-DI-GID **GIRL**-DI-GIRL!" I bare my teeth in the beginnings of a snarl and she jumps back immediately.

"Whoa! Calm down, will you?" Anastasia shoots back at me, glowering so strongly that I actually wince. "I was going to put you back in the Grendel Jungle. But first, some of your—" she breaks off, unsure. "… Friends would like to see you." Friends? I perk my ears. Who said I had… then it hits me. Anela and Aloha! Relieved, I slip into the corner of my cage and wait as she fetches my sisters. Soon enough, I see one pair of yellow bunny-like creatures and smile to myself.

"Hey, spud!" An energetic voice greets me as Anela hops around and presses her face against the cage like I had done before. Her bright eyes sparkle and tell me that nothing happened but a slight malfunction.

"Hey, Anela. Glad to see your okay." I reply, noticing how much older I feel compared to her. I cran my neck to look at Aloha, but she fixes her gaze stubbornly at the wall. "Aloha? It's okay. I'm sorry for taunting you."

"I'm sorry for… well, beating the Shee out of you."

"Friends again?" I ask.

She smiles. "Always were."


	4. Chapter 4

So here we are again. Can't tell you that I'm happy that I'm locked up in a cage, but it will have to do because I consider it better than being beaten by a hardman norn. It's gotta be.

... Right...?

"Hey, Grendel?" Anela paws at the cage, and I remember that she doesn't know my name. "When can we go home?"

Reassuringly, I push one of my white claws through the gap of my cage and poke her cheek. "Take a chill pill. We're gonna go soon. By the way, my name's Spud." I give her a smile, of which she returns. Then I flash Anastasia a warning look. "I mean- we _will_, _won't_ we?"

The shee-girl-thing gets my look and nods. "We're probably going to be landing soon, though. That planet's a few miles away. And that means no more exploring the ship and more exploring of whatever's there. Please be alert for any crumbling of the ship as we land."

"Well then." I acknowledge her speech with a tiny nod. "Now let me out. Nooooow." I bare my teeth playfully and paw at the cage. "Please?" Laughing, the creature unlocks the restraining cage and guides us through the spacey-looking hallway that me and Aloha passed before the... incident. I flinch at the memories, and it seems that Aloha remembers as well. "It's okay..." I murmur to myself, low enough for me and no one else.

I nearly bump into Anastasia as she stops in front of a door. It has another plant sign, along with a norn sillouette. "Doozers and Uglees!" I curse, hissing and backing away from the Norn World. "It's a non-toxic plant, isn't it? You norns are so spoiled."

Aloha coughs. "Home, sweet home." Immediately I pause and turn hot all over. That conversation, where have I...?

"Aloha! Ahh!" I start to see water to leak from my face. What's going on? OMISHEE, am I... _crying?_ I can't believe it! In the history of Grendels, I'm the first one to cry! How embarassing. The Grendel Code doesn't even have this in it! Which means I'm not allowed to do it! How many freaking times am I going to break it?

"Geez, will you stop? I'm only joking." Aloha says with a roll of her eyes. I glare at her with menace.

"SHADDUP!"

...

"I cannot believe we're coming back to the world we were supposed to be born in!" Anela exclaims with thorough excitement. "This is gonna be fun!" I cringe in Aloha's headlock. Don't ask me how the situation got this bad; all you need to know is that Aloha does _not_ Doozers thrown at her face. At all. We're still standing in front of the door, Anastasia just left, and the latest news is... I'm in a headlock?

"Well, here goes nothing." Taking a breath, Aloha releases me and pushes open the door. A blinding white light floods our eyes as we step through; I have to cover my own because of its' brightness. "Whoa!" Breathes Anela, "Spud, open your eyes!" I do so and gap.

It is absolutely beautiful. Trees and moors, seeds and carrots and cheese, it's sprinkled in every direction I look. I spot a female Fallow norn scooping up her cub and cradling it in her arms; Her mate is somewhere nearby. A big, headstrong Bengal norn glances at the newcomers and frowns at me. As his eyes flick over Anela and Aloha, a spark of recognition sets his face ablaze.

"Hey!" He calls out, attracting unwanted attention from the other norns. "Hey you, Grendel and all. You don't belong here. Go back to your poison plants and rotten food!" Arching my back, I let out a long hiss. Glancing at me sharply, the Fallow female I saw earlier placed her cub on the ground and runs over to me. She stands over me protectively as the Bengal norn takes a menacing step forward.

"Malho, you know this isn't how we treat guests." She speaks calmly and clearly, "You also clearly cannot use your brain properly."

"Why is that?" Malho yells back at her.

"Because, clearly you can see if two norns are with this grendel..." She cocks her head enough to smile at me. "...Then he is probably able to trust?" Anela and Aloha exchange glances before rapidly agreeing. Gee, thanks guys. It's lovely to know that you have to think before trusting your brother.

Malho, his fur beginning to fluff up, lets out a low snarl and whips around to storm away. Satisfied, the female Fallow norn fully turns around for the first time. "Hey there." Holding out a paw, she grabs one of my claws and shakes it for some odd reason. "My name is Azulia." I laugh nervously and look over her shoulder. I swear that Malho Norn is giving me the death look.

But... What was the recognition in his eyes when he looked at Anela and Aloha?


End file.
